Spain the Model Train Citizen
As the U.S. eases itself into a national system of high speed trains, other nations seem to be decades ahead, especially Spain.
This piece from Miller-McCune takes a ride on the AVE in Spain and compares it to the struggling bid in America to create a high speed rail network.
"Unlike in America, no freight trains or conventional passenger trains compete for these tracks, which are fenced-off and raised on concrete ties. With few stops, the electrified AVE trains on Spain’s four major routes maintain a 99 percent on-time record, according to RENFE, the state-owned company that operates the trains. RENFE puts its euros where its mouth is by offering passengers on the Madrid-Seville route a total cash refund if the AVE is more than five minutes late. With seats as cheap as $60 roundtrip, the Madrid-Barcelona trains have proven so successful that RENFE says it now has lured away nearly 50 percent of the Iberia Airlines traffic on that popular 375-mile route."
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The Spanish Model
Before anyone gets too carried away about "the Spanish model" for economic development, do check out Spain's unemployment figures - not just the recent ones, either.
There are consequences to getting your benefit-cost analysis wrong on every second project of national significance.
this is of course silly...
the operative question is what would spain's economy be like without the trains - or more specifically if the funds expended on the program were either used for other projects or refunded to taxpayers. from what i read i'd say that spain would be worse off...
The Spanish Refutation.
Of course, Spain has many economic issues and Green Jobs will not solve all of them. There have been several analyses answering (likely) industry-funded disinformation campaigns focusing on Spain's jobs.
Best,
D